Can transfer valve



June 8, 1937 T. M. JONES 2,082,894

' CAN TRANSFER VALVE Fil ed March 12, 1935. 2 Shgets-Sheet 1 I v INVENTORQ {Zena/ Mariam Patented June 8, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAN TRANSFER VALYE ration of Delaware Application March 12, 1935,. Serial No. 10,742 In Great'Britain March 22, 1934 16 Claims.

The object of'the present invention is to provide an improved construction of valve which effects the automatic ejection of the cans therefrom where desired.

A rotary can-transfer valve in accordance with this invention comprises a fixed lower plate over a which a vane-like wheel or propeller mounted on a vertical spindle is rotated so that the cans between the vanes or radial arms of the propeller rest upon and slide over the plate, and means for-retaining the cans within the divisions of the wheel or propeller between the feed and delivery positions, the plate having its surface inclined or sloping at the place where the cans are to be delivered so that when a can in its movement rides on to such inclined or sloping surface, it has a definite outward thrust imparted to it by the propeller which will deliver it from the valve.

The invention further comprises the arrangement in which the fixed plate has inclined or sloping surfaces at opposite sides of the propeller axis to serve for the feeding of cans on to the plate and for the delivery of cans therefrom respectively, the peripheral surface of the vanelike wheel or propeller between such feed and delivery points coming within can retaining walls which make a joint with the vane wheel.

The invention further comprises the arrangement in which the means retaining the cans within the wheel or impeller between the'i'eed and delivery positions comprise spring loaded parts which press upon the edges .of the vanes or arms of the propeller.

The invention further comprises the arrangement in which the fixed plate is a circular disc with flat or cut away sides at the feed and de- 50 livery positions so that feed and delivery endless conveyors can come alongside a straight part of the plate.

Referring to the two accompanying sheets of explanatory drawings:-

Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of a valve constructed and arranged in one convenient form in accordance with this invention- Figure 2 is a sectional elevation on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the plate over which the cans are moved by the vane-like wheel or propeller.

Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

The valve proper comprises a vane-like wheel or propeller a open at its periphery and keyed upon a vertical shaft b which is rotated by suitable means, and a fixed plate 0 upon which the cans rest as they are moved from the inlet to the delivery side of the valve.

The wheel or propeller a turns within a casing consisting of two parts d, 6, each with a spring loaded and detachable liner or shoe j thereon which bears against the tips of the propeller blades to make a joint therewith. The springs by which the liner parts I are loaded are shown at g. Each liner f is keyed to the casing by a key shown at h in Figures 1 and 2.

The plate 0 is secured to the part i of the valve casing which provides a bearing for the lower end of the shaft b. The right hand side of the valve in Figure 1 is the feed or inlet side and the left hand side is the discharge or outlet side. At the inlet side, the plate 0 gradually slopes away or thins down from the point a; to the edges Y and Z, the edge Y being thinner than the edge Z. At the delivery side, the plate slopes away or thins down from X to Y Cans which are to be fed into the valve are carried on plates 1 on an endless conveyor k and are pressed into the divisions of the vane wheel or propeller a by a worm m which is set at an angle to the conveyor k and is timed in relation to the shaft b so as to ensure that a can is passed into each division of the vane wheel or propeller a. The cans travel up the inclined surface of the plate 0 from Y to X and then are carried around by the vane wheel or propeller past the liner f until eachcan comes to the sloping delivery surface of the plate, where as there is no enclosing wall at that part, the can glides naturally off the plate and on to a plate 12. of the conveyor, 0 under the action of the vane wheel. It will be seen, therefore that the inclination of the surface of the plate c at the can delivery position serves in conjunction with the propulsive action of the vane wheel to deliver the can off the plate 0 without the use of extraneous extracting devices; thereby simplifying the construction 0! the valve.

The casing for the vane wheel or propeller has a cover piece p thereon which provides a bearing at q for the shaft b and a stufl'ing box at r, for said shaft. The vane wheel provides at all times a complete closure between the can inlet and delivery positions.

The mounting of the propeller a within the casing is such as to leave an enclosed chamber s between the propeller cover a1 and the casing cover p. When the valve is'used to transfer cans under the pressure of steam, air or other pressure medium, the chamber s serves to accumulate such pressure medium as escapes thereinto past the running joint between the propeller and valve casing, and the pressure thus built up in said chamber serves to hold the propeller vanes in pressure tight contact with the stationary plate c. The plate c can be renewed when worn.

Having now particularly described the nature of my invention and in what manner the same is to be performed what I claim is:

l. A can transfer valve comprising a housing 7 provided with can inlet and discharge ports, a

rotary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an upright axis and provided with spaced radially projecting can propelling vanes forming can receiving pockets therebetween, a stationary can support beneath said propeller for slidably supporting cans advanced thereover by said propeller, said can support having a portion of reduced thickness adjacent said discharge port for successive cooperation with each can sliding over said can support to effect movement of each can outwardly of said can propeller and through said discharge port by the thrust of said propeller vanes.

2. A can transfer valve comprising a housing provided with can inlet and discharge ports, a rotary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an upright axis and provided with spaced radially projecting can propelling vanes forming can receiving pockets therebetween, and a stationary can support beneath said propeller for slidably supporting cans advanced thereover by said propeller, the surface of said can support being inclined adjacent said discharge port to tilt said cans whereby said propeller vanes exert an outward thrust on cans propelled thereby to discharge them through said discharge port.

3. A can transfer valve comprising a housing provided with can inlet and discharge ports, a rotary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an upright axis and provided with spaced radially projecting can propelling vanes forming can receiving pockets therebetween, and a stationary can support beneath said propeller for slidably supporting cans advanced thereover by said propeller, the surface of said can support being inclined adjacent said inlet and outlet ports to facilitate introduction and discharge of cans through said ports.

4. A can transfer valve comprising a housing provided with can inlet and discharge ports, a

rotary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an upright axis and provided with spaced radially projecting can propelling vanes forming can receiving pockets therebetween, and a stationary can support beneath said propeller for slidably supporting cans advanced thereover by said propeller, said can support being provided with a rectilinear edge extending across said inlet port and having its surface inclined upwardly away from said edge to form a ramp to facilitate the introduction of cans into the valve.

5. A can transfer valve comprising a housing provided with can inlet and discharge ports, a rotary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an upright axis and provided with spaced radially projecting can propelling vanes forming, can receiving pockets therebetween, and a stationary can support beneath said propeller for slidably supporting cans advanced thereover by said propeller, said can support being provided with a rectilinear edge extending across said discharge port and having its surface inclined upwardly away from said edge to form a discharge ramp whereby to tilt said cans and cause said propeller vanes to exert an outward thrust on cans propelled thereby to discharge them through said discharge port.

6. A can transfer valve comprising a housing provided with can inlet and discharge ports, a rotary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an upright axis and provided with spaced radially projecting can propelling vanes forming can receiving pockets therebetween, and a stationary can support beneath said propeller for slidably supporting cans advanced thereover by said propeller, said can support being provided with rectilinear edges extending across said inlet and discharge ports and having its surface inclined upwardly away from said edges to form can receiving and discharge ramps to facilitate the introduction and discharge of cans through said ports.

7. A can transfer valve comprising a housing provided with can inlet and discharge ports, a rotary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an upright axis and provided with spaced radially projecting can propelling vanes forming can receiving pockets therebetween, and means for packing said propeller pressure tight including resiliently mounted packing shoes arranged to bear against the outer ends of said propeller vanes as the latter pass between said ports, and a stationary plate mounted beneath said propeller for bearing engagement with the lower edges of said vanes, said plate serving to slidably support cans advanced thereover by said vanes and having its surface inclined adjacent said inlet and discharge ports to facilitate introduction and discharge of cans through said ports.

8. A can transfer valve comprising a housing provided with can inlet and discharge ports, a rotary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an upright axis and provided with spaced radially projecting can propelling vanes forming can receiving pockets therebetween, and a stationary can support beneath said propeller for slidably supporting cans advanced thereover by said propeller, said can support being cut away adjacent said discharge port, whereby said propelling vanes project outwardly beyond its edge as they pass said discharge port. A

9. A can transfer valve comprising a housing provided with can inlet and discharge ports, a rotary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an upright axis and provided with spaced radially projecting can propelling vanes forming can receiving pockets therebetween, and a stationary can support beneath said propeller for slidably supporting cans advanced thereover by said propeller, said can support being cut away adjacent said discharge port whereby said propelling vanes project outwardly beyond its outer edge as they pass the discharge port, and being formed to direct said cans outwardly of said can propeller toward the discharge port whereby the thrust of the propeller vanes ejects the cans through said discharge port. a

11. A can transfer valve comprising a housing provided with can inlet and discharge ports, a rotary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an upright axis and provided with spaced radially projecting can propelling vanes forming canreceiving pockets therebetween, and a stationary can support beneath said propeller for slidably supporting cans advanced thereover by said propeller, said housing and said support being shaped adjacent said can inlet and discharge ports to cause said propelling vanes to project exteriorly of the housing and beyond the support as they pass said ports.

12. In an apparatus of the character described, a can transfer valve including ahousing, a rtary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an 'upright axis and provided with spaced radially projecting can propelling vanes forming can receiving pockets therebetween, said housing being provided with can inlet and discharge ports through which said propel-' ling vanes project exteriorly of the housing as they pass said ports, means for feeding cans into the path of said vanes exteriorly of said housing adjacent said inlet port, and a stationary can support beneath said propeller for slidablysupporting cans advanced thereover by said propeller, the surface of said can support being inclined adjacent said inlet port to form a ramp to facilitate the introduction of cans into the valve by the propeller vanes.

13. In an apparatus of the character described, a can transfer valve including a housing, a rotary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an upright axis and provided with spaced radially projecting can propelling vanes forming can receiving pockets therebetween, said housing being provided with can inlet and discharge ports through which said propelling vanes project exteriorly of the housing as they pass said ports, a'stationary can support beneath said propeller for slidably supporting cansadvanced thereover by said pro peller, said can support being provided with a rectilinear edge extending across said inlet port and having its surface adjacent said inlet port inclined to form a ramp to facilitate introduction of cans into the valve by the propeller vanes, and a conveyer extending alongside the rectilinear edge of said can support beneath the path of said propeller vanes for feeding cans between the vanes for transfer through the valve housing.

14. In an. apparatus of the character described, a, cantransfer valve including a housing, a rotary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an upright axis and provided with spaced radially projecting can propelling vanes forming can receiving pockets therebetween, said housing being provided with can inlet and discharge ports through which said propelling vanes project exteriorly of the housing as they pass said ports, a stationary can support beneath said propeller for slidably supporting cans advanced thereover by said propeller, said can support being provided with a rectilinear edge extending across said inlet port and having its surface inclined upwardly adjacent said inlet and discharge ports to form can receiving and discharge ramps to facilitate the introduction and discharge of cans through said ports, and means -for feeding cans into the path of said propeller vanes exteriorly of said housing adjacent said inlet port.

15. A can transfer valve comprising a housing provided with can inlet and discharge ports, a rotary valve within said housing provided with can receiving pockets and a cover for the ends of said pockets to one side of the valve, a stationary plate bearing against said valve and forming a closure for the other.ends of said pockets, said valve cover being spaced from the valve housing to form a chamber for the accumulation of pressure against said valve cover to hold said valve in pressure tight contact with said stationary plate.

16. A can transfer valve'comprising a housing provided with can inlet and discharge ports, a rotary can propeller mounted within said housing for rotation about an upright axis and provided with spaced, radially projecting can propelling vanes forming can receiving pockets therebetween, and a stationary can support beneath said propeller for slldably supporting cans advanced thereover by said propeller, saidcan support including a cam surface adjacent said discharge port soshaped as to provide for discharge of cans from the valve by the combined action of the cam surface and the propelling vanes.

THOMAS MARSDEN JONES. 

